Leslie Barnes keynotes French Studies conferences in Australia and Thailand

In December 2025 and July 2026, Leslie Barnes delivered keynote addresses for the Australian Society for French Studies [“French Studies Matters”] and for the Colloque international sur les études françaises [“Etudes françaises pour un avenir durable”]. Leslie’s presentations were drawn from her recent book, Sex Work in Southeast Asia: Scenes of Ambivalence in Literature and Film, and focused on Michel Houellebecq’s ambivalent engagement with sex tourism in Thailand in his 2001 novel, Plateforme.